All news (850)
International community aims to rid the world of AIDS by 2030
08.06.2016
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Press release
EDA
By 2030 HIV/AIDS should no longer be a threat to public health. This is the message of the Swiss delegation to the 2016 High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, which takes place on 8-10 June at the UN headquarters in New York. It thereby supports the adopted political declaration on HIV/AIDS, which requires measures against the epidemic to be intensified in the coming five years. The negotiations for the High-Level Meeting were led by Switzerland and Zambia, a country especially hard hit by HIV/AIDS, on behalf of the president of the UN General Assembly.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visits Bern
02.06.2016
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Press release
EDA
Today there are more than 60 million people worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes because of conflicts and humanitarian crises. Many of them receive assistance from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The head of the UN agency, Filippo Grandi, was received on Thursday in Bern by Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga and FDFA State Secretary Yves Rossier. Mr Grandi's visit provided an occasion to take stock of the relations between Switzerland and the UNHCR and to discuss current challenges.
“Un seul monde”, the magazine of the SDC: Dossier on displacement and migration
27.05.2016
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Article
DEZA
Aid and prospects close to home for refugees: Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter visits Swiss-sponsored projects in Lebanon
24.05.2016
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Press release
EDA
Having attended the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul where he discussed measures to jointly tackle violent conflict, major humanitarian challenges and the refugee crisis, the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, stopped off in Lebanon. In the capital, Beirut, he visited a number of projects in a show of support for the efforts being made by Switzerland and its partner organisations to improve the future prospects of people in Lebanon. There, he spoke among other things with young people about their tough living conditions and their ideas for the future.
Switzerland supports UNDP in crisis prevention and recovery
23.05.2016
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Article
DEZA
The United Nations Development Programme helps countries to prevent armed conflicts and violence, and to build better and stronger societies in the aftermath of crises. Switzerland will provide additional support to its crisis prevention and recovery programs. On 23 May 2016, Federal Councilor Didier Burkhalter and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark have signed a partnership agreement of CHF 13.8 million at the margins of the World Humanitarian Summit.
New aid consignment on its way to Donetsk
23.05.2016
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Press release
EDA
Since 22 May 2016, two Swiss Humanitarian Aid convoys carrying chemicals for water treatment and medical goods have been on their way to the conflict zone in Ukraine. Part of the consignment, containing medical supplies and medicines, will be delivered to the hospital in Kurakhove this morning. In addition, rail transport is being used for the first time.
How Switzerland comes to the aid of people forced to flee their homes
20.05.2016
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Article
DEZA
What action can be taken to address the ever-increasing number and duration of humanitarian crises? The SDC’s Humanitarian Aid takes measures to make the most efficient use possible of the funds at its disposal. In addition to providing emergency aid it gives priority to enabling population groups forcibly displaced by conflicts or other disasters to take their lives in their own hands in the long term. Switzerland will contribute the results of several successful experiences it has had in this field to the discussions at the World Humanitarian Summit on 23-24 May 2016 in Istanbul.
Colombian peace deal to be deposited in Switzerland
19.05.2016
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Press release
EDA
The Colombian government and FARC rebels have issued a joint statement stipulating that the final agreement on ending the conflict and building sustainable and long lasting peace in Colombia is to be deposited in Switzerland. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) welcomes this statement. The FDFA has been providing specialised expertise for the negotiations between the Colombian government and FARC rebels.
Food vouchers to ensure free choice for beneficiaries and a dynamic local economy
18.05.2016
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Article
DEZA
The World Food Programme is assisting four million people in Syria – the vast majority of them internally displaced – who are struggling to find enough food to feed themselves and their families. The SDC is supporting the WFP in Syria with CHF 1.3 million in 2016 and through the secondment of technical experts, one of whom is coordinating the cash transfer programmes devised by the WFP as an alternative to the direct distribution of food.
A milestone in the battle against arsenic- and fluoride-contaminated drinking water
28.04.2016
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Press release
DEZA
Over 300 million people worldwide use groundwater contaminated with arsenic or fluoride as a source of drinking water. The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) has developed a method whereby the risk of contamination in a given area can be estimated using geological, topographical and other environmental data without having to test samples from every single groundwater resource. The research group’s knowledge is now being made available free of charge on an interactive Groundwater Assessment Platform (GAP). www.gapmaps.org enables authorities, NGOs and other professionals to upload their own data and generate hazard maps for their areas of interest.
Beyond one’s own four kitchen walls – the SDC gives an insight into development cooperation
26.04.2016
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Press release
EDA
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) invites visitors to this year's BEA (Hall 1.1) to come smell, taste and discover. In its special exhibition entitled 'Beyond one’s own four kitchen walls' it shows by way of seven examples from different continents how it contributes to the reduction of poverty and hunger, and to ecologically sound agriculture. This year's BEA will be held in Bern from 29 April to 8 May 2016.
Mehrwert Swissness – wirksame Entwicklungszusammenarbeit im Kampf gegen Malaria
25.04.2016
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Article
DEZA
Seit der Jahrtausendwende gibt es im Kampf gegen Malaria zwar einige Erfolge zu verzeichnen. So konnte die Todesrate weltweit um fast die Hälfte gesenkt werden. Dennoch rafft die Krankheit nach wie vor jedes Jahr 438‘000 Menschen dahin. Der 10. Weltmalariatag am (heutigen) 25. April 2016 richtet deshalb den Fokus auf die Bedrohung, unter der auch heute noch rund die Hälfte der Weltbevölkerung in über 97 Ländern zu leiden hat. Obwohl die Krankheit vermeidbar und behandelbar ist, stirbt noch immer jede zweite Minute ein Kind an Malaria. Es ist daher dringend nötig, bei aller Befriedigung über die erzielten Fortschritte auch über die bestehenden Herausforderungen und über die Zukunft bei der Bekämpfung dieser tödlichen Krankheit nachzudenken.